Issue 386 of New Internationalist

Reader-owned global journalism

January-February 2006

Squatter Town: the South's urban explosion

For the first time in human history a majority of the world’s people will soon be living in slums in the global South. Already one in six people is a slum dweller – and that number is set to double in the next 30 years. Scrambling for work, struggling to survive, these poor communities face an uphill battle. This month’s New Internationalist reports on the conditions of slum life around the world.

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In this issue

  • Africa’s squatters are up against ruthless state power. *Andrew Meldrum* reports on Harare and beyond.

  • Does Africa any longer need Bob Geldof as its champion? After Live 8 many people are saying no.

  • *Richard Swift* meets the determined squatters of Bangkok who don’t know the meaning of the word eviction.

  • By 2030 there will be over two billion squatters worldwide. Richard Swift reports on their attempt to carve out their own piece of urban space.

  • For the first time in human history most of us live in cities: many in desperate conditions. The *NI* takes the measure of urban growth and poverty.